Is your refrigerator or freezer leaking cool/cold air? A leaky refrigerator can lead to spoiled, unsafe food and higher energy bills. Appliance Center Service Manager Brian Kwiatkowski shared a simple trick to test the seal on your refrigerator’s door.
Keeping It Cool
First, let’s talk about that door. When you open up your refrigerator, you’ll notice a flexible strip attached to the outer edge of the door. This is called the gasket. The gasket forms the airtight seal that keeps the cold air in your refrigerator or freezer where it belongs.
It’s important to take good care of the gasket. Clean it regularly with warm water mixed with dishwashing liquid. Dip the sponge or cloth in soapy water and wring out most of the water before cleaning. Make sure to get any particles out of the crevices of the gasket. If you notice the gasket getting dry and stiff, try giving it a nice rubdown with petroleum jelly to bring back the flexibility.
Try This Simple Trick
Here’s the trick to test the seal. With a dollar bill in hand, open your refrigerator door and then close it on the bill. Give it a little tug to see how easily it comes out. You should feel a bit of resistance. If the bill slides right out with no resistance or drops to the floor, the seal is not as strong as it should be. Repeat the test in several places all along the seal of both the refrigerator and the freezer.
Another way to test the seal is to turn on a flashlight and put it inside the refrigerator or freezer. Turn out the lights in the kitchen and check to see if there’s any light coming out of the refrigerator. If there’s light, air is escaping as well.
Here’s How To Fix It
If your refrigerator is leaking air, there’a a good chance it can be repaired. If the refrigerator is less than 15 years old, it likely has a pop-out gasket held in place by magnets. Do-it-yourselfers should have a fairly easy time replacing it.
You will need to make sure you have the right gasket to fit your fridge. Appliance Center Service can help you find and order the gasket that works with your refrigerator or freezer. If you’d rather have one of our academy trained service professionals handle the job, we’ll set up a service call.
If the refrigerator is an older model, it’s a bit more of a job. Those gaskets are glued on and take more work to replace.
For an older model, it might be a better option to upgrade to a new energy efficient refrigerator freezer. Fortunately, Appliance Center has hundreds of in-stock refrigerators. Some are even available for same-day delivery.*
Call 419-PAY-LESS to talk to one of our experts or contact us online at this link: https://www.shopac.com/services.
Click here to view our huge inventory of refrigerators and freezers.
*Same-day delivery subject to availability on items $799 and up within 30 miles of the distribution center.